Auxiliary grain separator for combines



Nov. 11, 1952 F. A. DION AUXILIARY GRAIN SEPARATOR FOR COMBINES Filed April 2, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet l NOV. 11, 1952 DION 2,617,425

AUXILIARY GRAIN SEPARATOR FOR COMBINES Nov. 11, 1952 F. A. DION AUXILIARY GRAIN SEPARATOR FOR COMBINES m I. Z 6 p ,F M

Filed April 2, 1948 Nov. 11, 1952 F; A. DION AUXILIARY GRAIN SEPARATOR FOR COMBINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April 2. 1948 Patented Nov. 11 1952 UNITED STAT E I: N T OFFICE AUXILEARY GRAIN SEPARATOR FOR COMBINES Fred AzDiOll, Havre, Mont.

Application-April1948, Serial No. 18,685

(01. Bil-24) Ciaims. 1.

The present invention relates to grain saving equipment and "more particularly 'to a grain separator adapted to be attached to and drawn by a harvester-thresher, or by'a thresher alone, to save the grain lost by present-day'threshers and discharged with the straw as waste on the field.

While efiorts have been made heretofore t6 improve the speed and efficiency of operationof threshers-and combined'harveste'rs and threshers, the majority of present-day 'tractor-pulled, or self-propelled, commercial threshers must be operated at slow speed or in 'low gear, in order to afiordample time for the threshing of thewheat with a correspondingly slow fan speed to prevent thefan from blowing the grain out of the machine, together with the straw and other foreign matter. Notwithstanding, such slow, or low speed, operation, a substantial quantity of grain is discharged from conventional threshers With the straw and lost, the loss averaging about three or four bushels of grain per acre. However, considerable time can be savedby running such machines at higherspeed, or in second-gear, butth isis impracticalvvith most present-day machines, because it merely results 'ininfiicientthreshing and increased waste of gr'ain which more than offsets'the savingin time. V I

Accordingly, it is the principle object of this invention to provide-an apparatus thatwill save thev grain lost with present threshing machines and-methods. v

Another object of the invention is to-provide means which will enable a thresher or harvesterthresher to operate in second gear without the loss of the grain normally wasted by operation at such speed, and to thusreduce the time required to effect threshing without loss of the grain.

Another object of the invention is to provide agrain separator adapted to-be connected to and drawn by either a harvester-thresher, or a thresher alone, to save the grain normally lost I in the use offlsuch machines even when operating at slow or low speed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a grain separator with a reciprocating screenconstructed so that no grain is lost by falling off the sides of the screen when the device is tilted due to being pulled along sloping terrain.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a, grain separator adapted to receive the material discharged from the straw outlet of aconventional thresher inorder to further treat such discharged material to separate the-grain therefrom which is normally lost.

A further object of the invention is to" provide a grain separator having an elevating conveyor adapted "to have the discharge'end thereof connected with the tailings'conveyor, or other com veyor, of the main thresher so that the "grain saved by the auxiliary thresher'can'be ultimately deposited in the grain tank of the'main thresher without requiring separate handling.

Another object "of the invention" is to provide a grain separator with a conveyor that "can be adjusted sothat the grainse'parator can beusd with various types of conventional main 'threshers.

A still further object'of the-invention isto'provide a grainseparator adapted to be connected with a conventional thresher-and having'a frame adapted to extend at least partially under the straw discharge hood 'of the conventional thresher in order that'it may receive the mate rialdischarged from the main thresher and subject saidmaterial'to'further threshing actionto save the grain which would otherwise be lost;

Still another object of the invention 'is' to provide a grain separator adaptedto have "the front end thereof connected with a conventional thresher and having ground-engaging wheel means at the rear end thereof which is vertically adjustable to adapt the g'rain' 'se'parator for use with conventional threshers having discharge outlets at different heights above the ground.

Other objects and features of the invention; will be apparent from-the follow-ingde'scription Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of the separator" shown in Fig. 1 with some parts shown in crosssection;

Fig. 5 is a sectional View taken on the line 5--5 of Fig. 3-and-particular1y illustrating-crank mechanism for shaking or reciprocating the' separator screen andrake bars;

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic View illustrating the manner in which the grain saved by the -sepa-' rator is returned to the mainharvester-thresher;

Fig. '7 is a schematic view illustrating the manner in which the various elements of the grain separator may be driven by separate belts instead of by a single belt.

Referring now to the drawings, a conventional harvester-thresher is generally identified by the numeral II], and is shown in dot-and-dash lines. The thresher I includes a hood II which serves as a straw discharge outlet and a pair of rear steering wheels I2 offset to one side of said hood, as indicated in Fig. 4. The thresher II] also includes a tailings conveyor I3 (Fig. 6) and an elevator I4 arranged to discharge cleaned grain into a grain tank I5.

The grain separator embodying the principles of the present invention is generally identified by the numeral I6 and includes a body providing a bin Il comprising side walls I8 and I9 connected at one end by a transverse front wall and at the other end by a transverse rear wall 2|. A bracket 22 is securely mounted on the rear wall 2I and carries vertically spaced lugs 23, which rotatably receive the shank 24 of a fork 25 having a shaft 25 upon which a groundengaging wheel 21 is rotatably mounted. The shank 24 is mounted for swivelling movement in the lugs 23 and carries adjustable collars 28 engaging the lugs 23 for effecting vertical adjustment of the wheel 21 with respect to the bin Il'.

A pair of brackets 29 is secured at one end thereof to the front wall 20 by bolts 30. The opposite end of the brackets 29 is pivotally connected to the conventional thresher I0 by a transverse shaft or rod 3|. While the brackets 29 and the shaft 3| have been disclosed herein as one operative means for connecting the grain separator IS with the main thresher I0, it is to be understood that any other suitable means may be used in lieu thereof. It will also be understood that the height of the hood II, or the straw discharge outlet of the main thresher, from the ground line G, varies in different makes of threshers and that the wheel 2! can be adjusted to raise or lower the rear end of the bin I I to suit the particular thresher to which it is to be attached.

The bin IT has a rearwardly sloping bottom wall portion 32 (Fig. 3), and a forwardly sloping bottom wall portion 33 which terminates short of the adjacent end of the wall portion 32. The gap between the bottom wall portions 32 and 33 provides a space for a screw conveyor housing 34 having an opening communicating with the interior of said bin. The housing 34 contains a conventional screw conveyor 35 for removing grain from the bin IT, as will be explained more fully hereinafter.

The straw, grain, etc. blown from the main thresher I0 through the hood II is deposited upon a plurality of parallel, toothed rake bars 36 mounted upon a rectangular grain separator frame 31. The frame 31 includes side members 38 and 39 and front and rear members 40 and 4|. The frame 3'! is greater in length than the bin I1 and the rake bars 36 are as long as said frame. The rake bars 36 are spaced four inches center to center and the ends thereof are secured to the front and rear frame members 40 and 4|, respectively. The four-inch spacing of the rake bars will prevent even short pieces of straw from dropping down between the rake bars. A screen 42 is mounted in the frame 31 and is formed from perforated sheet metal or substantially rigid hardware cloth having openings sufficiently large to permit the grain to fall therethrough, but small enough to prevent foreign material of a size larger than the wheat grains from passing therethrough. The screen 42 extends from the end frame member 43 to the end frame member 4|, as best shown in Fig. 3, and has a substantially flat bottom wall portion 43, as best shown in Fig. 4, and inclined, diverging side wall portions 44 which extend upwardly from said bottom wall portion for a height of about three to four inches. The edges of the side wall portions 44 are nailed or otherwise fastened to the upper surface of the frame side members 38 and 39, respectively. The inclined side wall portion 44 are purposely made of a substantial height in order to prevent any grain which has collected thereon from spilling over the sides of the screen and becoming lost when the device is being used on sloping terrain.

The frame 37 is mounted upon the bin I! in a manner to provide for rapid shaking or reciprocation thereof. Thus, links 43 are pivotally mounted at the lower end thereof on pins 4! extending inwardly from the inner sides of the side walls I8 and I9 of the bin IT. The links 4% are pivotally connected at their upper ends with the side members 38 and 39 of the frame 31 by pins 48. Pillow blocks 49 are mounted on the underside of each of the frame side members 33 and 39 adjacent the forward end thereof, and these provide a bearing for the offset portion of a crankshaft 59. The ends of the crank 58 are rotatably mounted in bearing brackets BI and 52, respectively, secured to the bin side walls I 8 and I9 by bolts 53 and 54, as best shown in Fig. 5.

A sprocket wheel 55 is drivingly secured to one end of the crankshaft 5i], and a chain 59 driven by a sprocket wheel (not shown) on the main thresher I0 transmits a drive to the sprocket 55. A conventional chain tightener 51 (Fig. 1) is arranged to maintain the chain 56 tight at all times and to take up any slack that might occur in said chain as a result of the grain separator I6 pivoting about the rod 3| as it is pulled over uneven ground.

It will be noted from Figs. 1, 3 and 6 of the drawings that the frame 3'! overlies the bin I! for its full length and that in use about half the length of the frame underlies the discharge hood II of the main thresher. As indicated in Fig. 4, the frame 31 is also substantially wider than the width of the discharge hood II so that all of the straw, etc. discharged from the hood II of the main thresher is deposited upon the rear end of the frame 37.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that as the sprocket 55 is rotated the crankshaft 50 will cause the rear end of the frame 3? to be raised and lowered and to be moved back and forth relative to the bin H. In other words, the crankshaft 58 will impart a gyratory motion to the forward end of the frame 31, whereas the rear end of said frame will float back and forth with a more or less oscillatory movement on the links 43. The frame 3? and the rake bars 33 are reciprocated quite rapidly so that a continuousshaking and tossing of the straw occurs, with the teeth of the rake bars progressively moving the straw toward the rear end of the frame. This shaking action separates the grain from the straw, enabling the grain to drop down upon the screen 42. The forward end of the frame 31 is shown in its lowermost position in Fig. 3, but even in such position the screen 42 is slightly inclined downwardly toward the rear of said frame. Hence, any grain which drops upon the forward end of the screen 42 and does not immediately fall through the screen into the Join IT isprogressively. .moveditoward the. rear :end

of :the screen until" itsdoes. pass through .oneof the screen openings and falls into :the bin I'l. Any'fshort pieces of straw, .or other .foreign matter, that .drop onto the screen flare progressively .moved toward: :the .rear end 45 of the screen and eventually are discharged therefrom by the shaking action .of .thescreen. It will. be notedithat thezbottom .wall .portion 43 of the rear end 15 of thescreen- ZZ is disposed below the rear frame member 4:! so that .foreign matter which has been deposited upon the screen is worked toward the rear end of said screen and discharged withouthindrance.

The efilciency of. the grain separator frame 3? is greatly improved by providing a continuously driven blower or-fanv 58 (Fig. 3) in the bin I! adjacent the forward end thereof. The fan 58 is ,partially surrounded by a housing 59 suitably mounted between the bin side walls I8 and I9 on brackets 59*. The fan 53 is mounted upon a shaft 59 journalled in bearings 66 suitably secured to the bin side walls l8 and I9. A drive pulley is mounted on the shaft 60' to effect driving of the fan 58. The fan housing 59 has an opening arranged to direct air upwardly and toward the rear end of the frame 3 The fan 58 provides a stream of air extending for the full width of the screen 2 and this stream is quite effective for blowing thistle or other light foreign matter off the screen 42 without blowing away the grain. The stream of air from 'the fan 58 can be deflected or directed as desired by a windboard 62 disposed in the path of said air stream. The windboard 62 extends across the bin H for substantially the run width of said bin and is mounted on a shaft '63 for pivotal movement relative to the fan 58. The windboard 62 can be adjusted to any desired angle by an armed '(Figs. 1, 2 and 4) having a conventional spring-pressed detent I55 cooperating with a toothed segmentfifi carried by the bin side wall I8, for locking the windboardtz in any desired position of angular adjustment for the most effective operation.

The strawand other foreignmatter discharged from the rake bars 36 and the screen '42 are scattered or distributed over the ground as the grain separator moves forwardly by a spreader wheel 39 having four arms w The spreader wheel i0 is disposed above a horizontal platform II, which has sections of angle iron 12 welded or otherwise secured thereto at each sideof the bin I1. The sections of angle .iron I2 are of a length suificient to overlap the sides It and I9 of the bin and are rigidly secured thereto by bolts #3. The platform H is provided with .a recess M (Fig. 3) to clearthe bracket 22 and the shank 2d of the trailer wheel 27. The platform 1| also has an opening '55 adapted to receive the portion 15 of a bracket 1'! which is secured to the underside of the platform "II by bolts 78 (Fig. 4). A shaft 19 extends through the bracket portion it and has a bevel gear 80 secured to the lower end thereof. The hub of the spreader wheel 58 is also secured to the shaft 19 to be driven thereby. The bracket I? also includes a portion 8! which serves as a bearing'for one end of a transverse shaft 82. A bevel gear 83 is secured to the shaft 82 and meshes with thebevel gear 88. The outer-end of the shaft 82 is rotatably mounted in a bracket 84 secured by bolts to one of the angle iron sections I2. A drive pulley 8t is mounted on the shaft 82 outwardly 0i thabracket 84.-

The crankshaft has a pulley flfiimounted thereon inwardly of: the. sprocket .55; The. screw conveyor '35 has :a shaft portion 9| which extends outwardly .of. the side .wall I13 tand.;has. .a pulley zezltmounted thereon. Thefan drive pulley BI and .the spreader wheel drive pulley '86,.1previously referred to, are disposed in a common plane with the pulleys 9i) and 92 so thatxall can be driven by a single V--belt .93. The belt-93 is maintained tight at alltiines by-a conventional spring-actuated belt 'tightener 94.

The grain which drops through the screen 42 into the'bin I1 slides down the bottom wallportions 32 and 33 by gravity into the screw conveyor housing .34. The screw conveyor 35; conveysthis graintoward the bin side wall I9 and dischargesthe same into the housing 95 (Fig. l) of an :elevating conveyor 96. The. conveyor Q6 includes a sprocket 91 mounted on an extension 9| of the screw conveyor 35, a chain 98 and an idler sprocket 99 (Fig. 6) at the discharge opening I08 oi the housing 95. Th chain 53 carries blades IfiI, which move the grain depositedin the housing 95 upwardly toward the discharge opening lot. The discharge opening I80 may be connected by a flexible conduit or fabric sleeve I92 with an inlet I33 of the tailings conveyor I3 of the main thresher iii. Thus, in operation, the screw conveyor 35 will deliver the grain separated from the straw by the frame 31 to the conveyor fit, which in turn conveys it to the tailings conveyor I3 for ultimate delivery to thegrain storage tank I5.

In order to adapt the grain separator 13 for use with various types of main .threshers, the conveyor housing 95' is pivotally mounted upon an extended cylindrical portion Hi l of the screw conveyor housing 34, as best shown in Fig. 4-. Thus, a flanged ring W5 is welded or otherwise secured to the conveyor housing 95' and surrounds the cylindrical portion Iild of the screw conveyor housing '34, thereby providing a broad bearing for the lower end of the housing 95 The shaft portion d! is supported in a bearing I133 carried by the housing and a collar II?!" is secured to the shaft portion iI to maintain the housing '95 in pivotal assembled relation with the screw conveyor housingt l. Thus, the housing 95 can be angularly adjusted about the axis of the screw conveyor 35.

In order to maintain the housing 95 in the desired position of angular adjustment with respect to the bin It, a bracket H18 is provided having an arcuate slot Hi9 concentric with the axis 'of the'screw conveyor 3?. The bracket IE8 has an offset end tim secured to the bin side wall I9 by bolts ill] and a reversely bent end III which is secured to said side wall by bolts H2. The housing 95 has lugs H3 welded or otherwise secured to the narrow sides of the housing 95, and a carriage bolt I I4 extends through the slot I69 and through each of the lugs H3. A nut H5 threaded on each 'of the carriage bolts m is adapted to be tightened to firmly secure the conveyor housing 95 to the bracket I68 in any desired position of adjustment'within the limits of the slot I39.

While a single belt 83 has been shown fordriving the pulleys 9d, 86, 92 and BI, it is apparent that these pulleys may be driven through more than one belt. While the use of a plurality of belts necessitates the use of additional pulleys, nevertheless, such a plural belt drive is contemplated and diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. '7. Thus, in Fig. '7, the crankshaft 50, in addition tohaving-the sprocket wheel '55" andthe pulley" 9-D mounted thereon, has a pulley H6 secured thereto. A cross belt H1 is arranged to drive the fan pulley 6| from the pulley H6, and a belt I I8 is arranged to drive the screw conveyor pulley 92 from the pulley 96. A pulley H9 is mounted on the shaft 9| adjacent the pulley 92 and drives the spreader wheel pulley 86 through a belt 120. The various belts and pulleys shown in Fig. 7 may, of course, be driven from the main thresher It) through the chain 56, as shown.

It will be understood that the grain thresher I6 described herein may be provided with ball bearings throughout to minimize friction and that in lieu of employing a single belt drive 93, additional belts and pulleys may be employed for effecting the same operation, as schematically shown in Fig. 7.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the grain separator 16 provides an apparatus for saving grain which would otherwise be lost, and includes conveyor means for conveying the saved grain back to the main thresher so that the saved grain does not require separate handling.

Another important feature of the present invention is that it enables a greater wind pressure in the conventional main combine thresher to be maintained for more effective cleaning, because if any grain is blown over with the straw, thistles, etc., from the main thresher, the grain separator will separate the two. The present invention also makes it economically practicable to operate the main thresher In at a higher speed than low because it will remove any grain carried over with the straw due to the increased speed. In this manner, the present invention not only saves grain but also can be utilized to save threshing time.

While a preferred form of the invention has been illustrated and described herein in detail, it will be understood that changes may be made in the arrangement and design of the parts and in the manner in Which the various elements are driven, without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the annexed claims.

I claim:

1. A grain separator, comprising: a bin; a grain separator frame disposed above said bin and including a pair of side members and end members; a plurality of longitudinally extending rake bars mounted upon said end members of said grain separator frame; a mesh screen carried by said grain separator frame below said rake bars, said screen including a flat bottom portion extending for substantially the full width of said grain separator frame and having upwardly diverging integral mesh screen side wall portions of substantial height extending from said bottom portion and secured to the side members of said grain separator frame, said side wall portions of said screen serving to prevent grain from dropping 01f the sides of said screen when the grain separator is tilted while employed on sloping terrain; and means for reciprocating said grain separator frame relative to said bin.

2. In a separator, a frame including a pair of side members and end members; a plurality of longitudinally extending rake bars mounted upon said frame; and a mesh screen carried by said frame, said screen including a generally flat bottom wall portion extending for the major portion of the width of said frame and having longitudinally extending integral mesh screen side wall portions of substantial height diverging upwardly from said bottom wall portion and secured to the side members of said frame, said longitudinal side wall portions of said screen serving to prevent grain from dropping off the sides of said screen when the separator is tilted while employed on sloping terrain.

3. A grain separator, comprising: a bin; a substantially rectangular frame of greater length than said bin disposed above said bin and including a pair of longitudinal side members and transverse end members; a plurality of longitudinally extending rake bars of greater length than said bin mounted upon said end members of said frame; a mesh screen of greater length than said bin carried by said frame and disposed below and in spaced relation to said rake bars and end members, said screen including a flat bottom portion extending transversely for the major portion of the width of said frame and having upwardly extending integral mesh screen side wall portions of substantial height extending from said flat bottom portion and secured to the side members of said frame, said side wall portions of said screen serving to prevent grain from dropping off the sides of said screen when the grain separator is employed on sloping terrain; and means for reciprocating said frame relative to said bin.

4. A grain separator, comprising: a bin adapted to have the front end thereof connected with a conventional thresher; wheel means supporting the rear end of said bin; a frame disposed above said bin adapted to receive the straw, etc., discharged from a conventional thresher, said frame comprising a pair of longitudinal side members and transverse end members; a plurality of longitudinally extending rake bars of greater length than said bin mounted upon said end members; a mesh screen of greater length than said bin carried by said frame and disposed below and in spaced relation to said rake bars and at least the rearmost end member, said screen including a bottom portion and integral mesh screen side portions extending upwardly from said bottom portion and secured to said frame; means pivotally supporting the rear end of said frame above said bin; means supporting the front end of said frame above said bin and for imparting reciprocating motion thereto; a spreader wheel disposed at the discharge end of said frame and adapted to have the straw and other foreign matter discharged thereinto from the rear end of said screen and rake bars; and means for simultaneously driving said reciprocating means and said spreader wheel.

5. A grain saving device for use with a thresher having a tailings conveyor and a downwardly directed straw discharge outlet, comprising: a bin; a grain separator frame of greater length than said bin disposed above said bin; rake bars mounted upon said frame; a screen carried by said frame and disposed below said rake bars, said rake bars and said screen respectively being of greater length than said bin so that the ends thereof normally project beyond the ends of said bin; means for supporting and reciprocating said frame on said bin; a fan in said bin disposed below said screen for blowing air upwardly through said screen while said screen is being reciprocated; a windboard in said bin on the discharge side of said fan arranged to direct air from said fan toward said screen; a screw conveyor in said bin for conveying grain out of said in; conveyor means for conveying said grain back to the tailings conveyor of said thresher; and means for connecting said bin with said thresher in a position such that the material 9 10 from the discharge outlet of said thresher is Number Name Date deposited directly upon said rake bars and screen. 1,197,293 Hutton Sept. 5,1916 FRED A. DION. 1,210,571 Welty Jan. 2,1917 1,534,560 Curtis Apr. 21, 1925 REFERENCES CITED 5 1,835,327 Paradise Dec. 8, 1931 The following references are of record in the 1,363,237 Judson July 19, 1932 fil f this patent; 2,255,193 Steelman Sept. 9, 1941 2,280,677 Wagner et a1 Apr. 21, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,297,998 Dray Oct. 6, 1942 Number Name Date 10 267,549 Lott Nov. 14,1882 FOREIGN PATENTS 318,865 Burgess May 26, 1885 Number Country Date 798,956 Good Sept. 5, 1905 666,937 France June 3, 1929 1,007,297 Lattimer Oct. 31, 1911 

